World Import record: 5.55 at 254mph (409kph)
We finally got to see a 5.50 from an import in 2019, run by a racer seemingly unknown on the world stage. That said, Dr Arnaldo Rodriguez from Puerto Rico had quickly made a name locally running the Puerto Rican record in 2018, in what was a brand new car. The Scion FRS then went back under the knife for a complete front-end rework. The Toyota runs a billet 2JZ and Precision turbo combination with Microtech ECU and is backed by an air-shifted Lenco. The team has been chipping away at the timeslips aggressively, dipping lower and lower each event that it has attended. We suspect that this is not the last we will hear of the man dubbed ‘Dr Speed’.
Four-Cylinder record: 6.07 at 229mph (369kph)
Long-time Canadian four-cylinder campaigners Carl and Nick Brunet took back the four-cylinder record they have held on and off over the last 12 years of campaigning a General Motors (GM) Ecotec 2.2 in numerous chassis configurations — the last eight years being in an ex-Pro Stock rear-wheel-drive (RWD) chassis. The engine is essentially the continuation of GM’s successful race programme during the early 2000s to develop its 2.2 Ecotec into a crate race engine. These days, the Brunets are pushing power levels well over what GM ever did, running upwards of 69psi through an 88mm Garrett Gen II turbo controlled by a Fuel Tech ECU. The team is also running a seven-speed Liberty transmission, which is new to the market. With the record now set at 6.07, these boys are pushing hard to be the first four-cylinder into the fives.
Outright Rotary record: 6.08 at 229mph (369kph)
It’s been a long time since we last saw a rotary rewrite the world record — the last time being New Generation Motorsports back in 2015. But there has been one team on a mission to do exactly that: the Mech Tech–sponsored Edwin Motorsports RX-8 20B driven by the legend Edwin ‘Loquito Killer’ Burgos. The team finally reached its goal in October, resetting both the mph and ET records. The car was first built back in 2013 using a Tim McAmis chassis and a carbon-fibre body built at Mech Tech Institute. The engine is a semi-peripheral-port (PP) billet 20B using Billet Inc. parts and built by Edwin himself. It runs a single Precision turbo and is backed by a G-Force transmission. Loquito is another car gunning to be the first to crack a five in a rotary — fingers crossed that 2020 will see it happen.
World Electric record: 7.22 at 189mph (304kph)
Few people have innovated in the world of drag racing quite like Don ‘Big Daddy’ Garlits, who has enjoyed a racing career spanning 60 years. He continues to race regularly, with his current focus being to crack 200mph in an electric dragster (he was the first to go 200mph in a dragster back in 1964). Big Daddy has been chipping away at his electric goal for a few years now and this is his second car and third configuration, but he is yet to reach 200mph (322kph). The motor itself is DC and came from a drag bike and has been modified to produce 1250hp (932kW), 4000V, and 400A. The battery itself is a custom-built lithium-ion unit weighing 127kg. Currently, the car is chain driven, although it’s very likely it will be rejigged to a direct-drive configuration to overcome the chain issues plaguing the team in the quest to reach that 200.